


The Good Times and the Valentines

by artificialmac



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Declarations Of Love, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Romantic Gestures, Sweet, Tiny bit of Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 11:12:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19811101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artificialmac/pseuds/artificialmac
Summary: Vanessa and Brooke plan to do a Valentine's show together to answer all the burning questions people have about their relationship. All is well, but Brooke is keeping a secret.





	The Good Times and the Valentines

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Multifandomgeek for helping me clean up this work. And BLESS my darling Grapefruit for betaing this hot mess express and trying to teach me how to stick to one tense. Y'all the real MVPs.

It was Brock’s idea.

Jose had been resting comfortably on his Canadian body pillow of a boyfriend, tracing lazy patterns over his chest when Brock mentions it.

“We should do a Valentine’s show together.”

Jose sat up to look at his boyfriend/body pillow, a lopsided smile on his face. “Yeah?”

Brock gave an equally happy grin in return. “Yeah. I think it would be a great way to talk with the fans, and really open up about our relationship.” Brock noted Jose’s raised eyebrow. “What do you think?”

“If you think it’d be a good idea, I’m down.”

“I know we kept it under wraps these past three years, and I know that was difficult for you.” Jose nodded slightly. It had been Brock’s idea to keep their relationship private this time. Fans knew, for sure, but they didn’t talk about it openly in interviews or at shows. Just little hints here and there. It had been hard at first. The romantic in Jose wanting to tell anyone and everyone that this man, this wonderfully kind and talented man, was his and his alone.

“I want everyone to know without a doubt that you’re mine.” He cupped Jose’s face in his hand. “And I’m yours.”

Jose smiled even wider. 

...

Their relationship after filming had been good. It was peaceful for a time, until it wasn’t. Nights got longer and lonelier as time moved on. They split up on semi-good terms. Neither really wanting to leave this comfort they had made, but they knew if they had any shot at working in the future, they needed time apart. 

Then the show aired and there was no time to be apart.

They were thrust together for pictures and tours and performances. It was hard being so close and yet so far from the person you still cared deeply about. But they managed. 

They managed for all of three weeks of touring before falling back into place.

Nina told them that it wasn’t enough time apart. She was probably right, but they didn’t care.

Jose’s hand felt safe in Brock’s. His arms felt right wrapped around Brock’s neck. His heart felt content in Brock’s chest. 

It had taken a while to get the hang of it. Brock had to come to terms with expressing his feelings rather than bottling them up until he burst. Jose had to learn to be more patient. 

It had taken quite a while before they finally got it right.

They took things slow. Very slow. They didn’t move in together till almost a year and a half of dating, and when they did move in, it was really more of a convenience thing. Brock had started out with his own drawer at Jose’s place. His one drawer grew to two drawers, grew to part of the closet, grew to both their clothes being practically interchangeable.

The moving in had been an adjustment as well. 

Brock loathed laundry more than anything in the world, which is probably why he only wears that one goddamn red hoodie. Jose loathed doing dishes or cleaning up after himself in general. There were quite a few fights about each of their respective flaws when it came to tidying up. But the fights paled in comparison to all the other amazing things that came with living together. 

Like how Jose made them have ‘date-nights’ every Saturday where they would curl up on the couch and watch a movie. They would alternate who got to pick the movie. Jose always opted for rom-coms and Brock tried his damndest to show Jose that other genres were pretty good too. Jose always ended up falling asleep when it was Brock’s turn to pick, but he couldn’t really be mad as the younger man snored peacefully on his lap. 

It was the little things that made it all worth it. The way Brock would wake him up with kisses to his forehead or the way he would just _look_ at him sometimes. Jose wouldn’t even be doing anything and Brock would just look at him like he was his world. Like he would steal every star in the sky if Jose just asked. Like he loved him.

Jose hadn’t actually expected Brock to follow up with the Valentine’s Day idea. But the next morning he got to work contacting their managers and clearing their schedules. Jose was surprised at how easily they got out of some of their previous engagements, but he wasn’t going to complain.

Rehearsals started two weeks before the show. Jose hadn’t expected there to really be rehearsals. He thought it was just going to be a fun night of the two of them bantering and performing after each other. 

Brock had different ideas.

“No, J you have to turn left on 4.” Brock sounded exhausted. 

He was. He hadn’t been sleeping well the past few nights. Jose had heard him pacing back and forth on their balcony, mumbling under his breath. 

“I’m tryin, Mary. We can’t all be fuckin professional dancers on the first try.” Jose sounded agitated. 

He was. Brock had been making them rehearse for the past six hours, and they had barely completed half the dance.

Brock had wanted to do this big opening number with all the girls at Mickys. It seemed like a fine idea, until Dance Instructor Brock took over. He was harsh and commanding and settled for nothing less than perfection. If Jose weren’t dead tired he would find it sexy. Right now he just found it annoying. 

Jose spoke to the other girls in the room. “Let’s take a break.” They nodded their heads in agreement and made themselves scarce, giving the lovers time to talk.

Jose took slow steps over to Brock who was looking at himself in the mirror doing god knows what kind of move. Jose was irritated. Angry even. But he knew that had to be pushed aside for now. That was one of the many things he had learned in this relationship. If Brock was lashing out or being unbearable, it was most likely because he was hurting.

“Brock, baby, come talk to me.”

“Let me just-“

“Brock.” Jose spoke softly. “Please.”

Brock turned around at the tone in his boyfriend’s voice. He let his shoulders slump and his pristine posture relax. 

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

They looked at each other for a moment, letting the tension leave and small smiles mirror on their faces.

Jose stepped forward, still cautious. “What’s goin on up here?” He lightly tapped the side of Brock’s head with a finger. “Why you so intent on makin this perfect?”

Brock looked at him a moment, seemingly holding something back. “I just want it to be special. I know you love Valentine’s Day, and the past three years we haven’t been able to get it right.”

“Oh god, don’t remind me about the zoo.”

Jose saw Brock laugh, open and honest. The first he had laughed in what felt like days. 

The three Valentine’s Days that they had been together had all ended horribly. One of them would plan something nice and it would inevitably go haywire. Leading to food poisoning, another cat to feed, and a lifetime ban from the Los Angeles Zoo.

Brock slid his hands into Jose’s, “I want it to be special for you. I want this Valentine’s Day to be perfect.”

It wasn’t the truth. Or at least, not the whole truth. Jose could tell there was still something eating at his boyfriend. But he let it go for now, and opted to smile, putting all the love he had on his face. Brock gave him a peck on the lips that felt far away even though they were inches apart.

“Alright. From the top.”

…

When the actual day arrived, Jose and Brock didn’t think too much about the show that night. They spent the day in all their favorite places. The little coffee shop around the corner from the hospital. The secret park they had found one night after drunkenly getting lost. Their living room. They talked and talked about everything and anything that came to mind. Content to just spend the day in domestic bliss.

But Brock dragged them away from their little paradise at around 10pm to head to Mickys. They got there early, thanks to Brock’s planning, and did their makeup in relative silence. Brock finished first, as always, and went to ‘check up on some things’ leaving a kiss on Jose’s cheek in his wake.

The crowd was electric. The place was packed full of so many people that Vanessa could barely see their faces. She and Brooke smiled to them and waved as they made their way on stage.

“Hi there everybody! How are you all doing tonight?”

The scream from the crowd was deafening. 

“Lovely!” Brooke laughed. “Well we wanted to do something special for Valentine’s Day, so we are doing a show together for you guys.” The crowd cheered again. “And by the way for the Q&A we are gonna have you guys write questions down and let our lovely friends and managers pick the best ones for us to answer after the show.”

Vanessa chimed in. “There’s pens and paper at the bar, and while you’re over there grab yourself a drink, Mary. It’s Valentine’s Day.”

Brooke smiled at her and Vanessa marveled at how the butterflies still fill up her stomach at the sight.

The opening number went off without a hitch. However much Vanessa had loathed the long hours of rehearsing, Brooke had been right. 

Vanessa kicked off the show with a high energy performance of ‘We Found Love’ - Rihanna and Vanessa being the ultimate crowd pleaser - the crowd was electric. They kept up the momentum with Brooke doing ‘Crazy in Love,’ a classic in her repertoire. Vanessa had always loved to watch her perform and stood in the wings of the stage, ignoring the knowing looks from their fellow performers. The two took turns back and forth performing a mix of pop and slow love songs. They even threw in a duet performance of ‘River Deep Mountain High’ and the audience ate up every minute of it, cheering especially loud at their banter between numbers. Vanessa, laughing like she never had before, Brooke, opening up and letting her personality shine through, rather than focusing solely on everything being perfect. 

The Q&A kicked off with some sweet questions. Brooke and Vanessa alternated reading them to each other.

**How long have you been dating?**

“Three years.”

“Three years, a hundred and nineteen days.” Brooke corrected.

**What is your favorite thing about one another?**

“His eyes.”

“How loving he is.”

**Who loves who more?**

“I love you more.”

“Impossible.”

**Best date you went on?**

“For our third anniversary he took me to Disney World! Now if that ain’t a keeper I don’t know what is.”

“We went to this hole in the wall restaurant in Miami when we visited his folks. It was right next to the ocean, and we ate fresh seafood by the water and talked till the sun came up.”

The questions continued for almost an hour, becoming more and more sappy and Vanessa’s heart swelling more and more. 

“Alright I think we can take one more question.” Vanessa said, trying to wind the show down after a look from their manager.

Steve handed Brooke the last question and Vanessa saw Brooke look at it quizzically for a second. Then a small smile teased the corner of her mouth. “Ok, this one is for you.”

Vanessa looked at her expectantly.

Brooke’s face softened all of a sudden, and in a split second, Brock was standing in front of her. The switch was immediate and Vanessa barely had time to register anything before Brock is speaking with a soft voice, reading the paper.

“I have loved you for what feels like all my life. I never knew that all I needed to be happy in life was a short Puerto Rican drag queen with a loud mouth and huge personality.”

Vanessa melted at the words and she suddenly knew exactly what was happening.

Brock’s eyes were watery as he continued on, looking up at Vanessa every other word, but still so anxious that he couldn’t look too long. “I am a better person for loving you. I know that to be true.”

Vanessa felt tears on her cheeks. She didn’t know when they had started to fall, but the floodgates behind her eyes had been released.

Brock angled the microphone away and reached for her hand as he whispered, “Don’t cry baby, you’re gonna make me cry.”

He pulled the microphone back to his lips. “You have effectively ruined me from loving anyone else. Which is good I guess, because I don’t want to love anyone else. Baby, there aren’t enough words in English to describe my love for you. Mi amor, there aren’t enough words in Spanish either. No language or words can show you all the ways you make my life better. Only actions.” 

Brock breathed in and out and reached around the back of his outfit to pull out a small box. “So with that being said.” He got on one knee and Vanessa’s heart felt like it was beating out of her chest. Brock angled the microphone away again and spoke just to Jose. “Jose Cancel.” He put the microphone back to his mouth. “Will you marry me?”

Jose couldn’t pull Brock to his chest fast enough. He held him there for what felt like the rest of their lives. The audience was deafening, but Jose couldn’t even hear them. Focused on this moment. Focused on the now. Focused on how incredibly happy he was.

Brock pulled back and looked into his eyes. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes yes of course yes!”

Brock pulled him in for a kiss and it felt like everything fell into place.

The ring fit perfectly. 

It was dramatic with small breaks in the silver exposing Jose’s finger and small diamonds placed strategically to fill the space. It was perfect.

Brock was perfect.

Jose couldn’t stop smiling.

Brock let Jose rest his head on the taller man’s shoulder as he wrapped up the show. “Well thank you guys so much for coming out tonight! And happy Valentine’s Day from me and mine to you and yours!”

Brock squeezed Jose’s hand and they made their way offstage to congratulations from their fellow performers.

When they made it back to their dressing room Brock turned and looked at him seriously. All the joy in his eyes a second ago had been replaced with worry. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot out there. If you wanna take back your answer that’s fine. I understand.”

Jose shut him up with a kiss they both felt in their toes.

“When have you known me to say anything other than what I wanna say?”

Brock smiled at him. All his worry vanished. There was no trace of any hesitation or fear. 

Only insurmountable joy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks a lot for reading. Follow me on tumblr @imalwaysaslutfordrag


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